At present in radiological medical explorations which involve interventions, for example haemodynamic, vascular, cardiovascular, digestive, CAT, traumatology or radiotherapy interventions, etc., in order to activate the ionising radiation command (for example: x-rays, fluoroscopy, etc) and to see the image of the patient on the display monitor, it is necessary to press one or more pedals (or one switch or more switches) which are habitually located on the floor beneath the operating table, which in turn may be covered by sheets, plastic, etc., which cover the patient and the table, thus impeding the view beneath the table. Consequently, each time the operator raises his foot from the pedal in order to deactivate the ionising radiation and subsequently presses down on the pedal again (a process which occurs numerous times during the course of an intervention), it is necessary for him to look, or grope with his foot, under the table in order to locate the pedal which needs to be pressed, since there may be several pedals with different functions. This therefore wastes time before the pressing takes place, and also just after the operator has pressed the pedal, whilst he is turning his head to look at the monitor, except that in this last case ionising radiation is being produced.
Another example which occurs in practice is that during an intervention the operator looks away (for a few seconds) repeatedly, without lifting his foot from the pedal.
On other occasions, the activation pedal is pressed accidentally, with the consequent generation of radiation which is not required.
The sum of all these periods of time wasted before pressing the pedal prolongs the intervention unnecessarily, and the total of all the periods after pressing takes place, in which there is a live image (of x-rays for example), but when the operator is not looking at the monitor, means that there is an increase to a greater or lesser extent in the cumulative dose of ionising radiation received by both the patient and the staff who are in the exploration room.
This type of intervention requires continual and repeated use of ionising radiation, and its complexity may require implementation of various tasks simultaneously, such as: handling of complex instruments, the intervention itself on the patient, monitoring the vital signs, activation of ionising radiation, and observation of the images obtained on the display monitor, as well as the concentration required for any intervention work. Because of the aforementioned complexity of the work, good synchronisation of activation and deactivation of the ionising radiation is not obtained, which on some occasions gives rise to lack of deactivation of the said ionising radiation when the operator looks away from the display monitor in order to keep intervening on the patient. This means that the ionising radiation is kept active for an undesired period of time, thus increasing the dose accumulated by the patient and by all the staff who are in the exploration room.
In addition, also occasionally, the ionising radiation is activated too soon, without this being noticed.
Similar problems are caused by radiotherapy treatments: although in this case it is not necessary, the image provided by the radiation may also be displayed. However, the purpose of this therapy is to destroy the tumoral tissues. This therapy is effective only if the patient is immobile in the position on which the radiation is focussed, since otherwise all that happens is that the patient is irradiated unnecessarily. It therefore appears logical to emit radiation only after the operator has checked on a monitor that the patient is in the correct position and is not moving, and whilst he is focussing his attention on the corresponding controls or indicators which are situated in a predetermined direction.
Similarly, outside the medical domain, certain processes or applications exist, which, as they are carried out, require visual attention or monitoring, which can be implemented by means of a monitor, by means of some indicators, or directly.
For example, there is the simple activity of watching the television. On many occasions the television set is left switched on without anyone paying attention to it.
Another example consists of observing by means of television with multiple cameras and monitors. If the observer is looking at a single monitor, the other monitors and their corresponding cameras are switched on and are consuming energy unnecessarily.
There are also computer screens which are left switched on for many hours unnecessarily. Despite having automatic timed disconnections for energy saving, they lack a system which activates them simply by the fact of looking at them, thus requiring manual action on the keyboard or mouse, which is sometimes a complicated matter, for example if someone is talking on the telephone and writing at the same time.
There is also the unnecessary waste of energy, which would be eliminated by use of the system according to the invention.
However, it is not only in the context of energy saving with reference to the connection or disconnection of a monitor that control by gazing is relevant. Other possible applications also exist.
For example, in certain industrial processes it is necessary to have detailed monitoring on a screen, by means of indicators, or directly, in order to prevent industrial work (for example welding or tooling) from being carried out defectively. Thus, this work should not be allowed to be carried out if this monitoring is not being carried out by the operator.
The invention can also be applied to other fields, in order to activate various processes wherein, because of the complexity of the work and/or because it is not possible to use one's hands, various activations or processes can be executed by gazing at one or more points of reference in order to activate, deactivate and/or control them.
Similarly, the control of activations of multiple processes can be simplified to a single control, and it is possible to select the activation process required by gazing at the different points of reference. For example, several barriers to be opened up can be controlled by a single control unit, since the process would be selected by the gesture of looking at the corresponding points of reference or monitors.
In the above-described examples, control by gazing does not exist. The system and method according to the invention enhance existing systems, devices, and methods.